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Social Work

Contact  Keith Alford, 300 Sims Hall, 315-443-4252.

Faculty Keith A. Alford, Paul Caldwell, Wan-Yi Chen, Kenneth N. Corvo, Ellen deLara, Alejandro Garcia, Kim D. Jaffee, Juye Ji, Eric Kingson, Karen E. Kirkhart, Sandra D. Lane, Peg Miller, Deborah J. Monahan, Nancy R. Mudrick, Diane Lyden Murphy, Jennifer Propp, Carrie Jefferson Smith, Diane S. Young

The bachelor of science degree in social work requires the completion of 120 credits. Social work major requirements total 42 credits. Liberal arts and supporting requirements total 55 to
58 credits including 12 to 15 credits in liberal skills, 12 credits in humanities, 24 credits in
social sciences, 7 credits in natural sciences, and 20 to 23 credits of electives.
All bachelor’s students in social work must complete at least 45 hours of volunteer or paid experience in a human service agency before the end of the sophomore year.

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
Social Work (42 credits)

HSH 101 First-Year Gateway 1
SWK 201,202 Social Work Practice Skills Laboratory I and II
6
SWK 301 Foundations of Social Work Practice 3
SWK 314,315 Social Welfare Policy and Services I and II 6
SWK 326 Persons in Social Contexts 3
SWK 328 Human Diversity in Social Contexts 3
SWK 361 Foundations of Social Work Research 3
SWK 401,402 Strategies of Social Work Intervention I and II 6
SWK 435,436 Field Practicum I; Field Seminar I 6
SWK 445,446 Field Practicum II; Field Seminar II 6

Liberal Skills Requirements (12-15 credits)
Expository writing 6-9
Mathematics 6

Note: The statistics requirement for social work students may be satisfied by taking MAT 121-122 or MAT 221-222 as a liberal skills requirement.

Humanities Divisional Perspectives (12 credits)
Social work students must complete 12 credits in the humanities divisional perspective defined in the liberal arts core of the College of Arts and Sciences. More detail is offered in the publication, “Liberal Arts Core.”

Natural Sciences Divisional Perspective (7 credits)
BIO 121 General Biology 4
ANT 131 Introduction to Human Evolution, or  
BIO 123 General Biology, or  
PSY 223 Introduction to Biopsychology, or  
PSY 315 Drugs and Human Behavior, or  
PSY 395 Abnormal Psychology or
 
NSD 225 Nutrition in Health 3

Social Sciences Divisional Perspective (24 credits)
AAS/ANT 112 Introduction to African American Studies, or  
ANT 121 Peoples and Cultures of the World
3
ECN 203 Economic Ideas and Issues, or  
ECN 258 Poverty and Discrimination in America 3
PSC 121 American National Government and Politics, or  
PSC 122 American State and Local Government and Politics 3
PSY 205 Foundations of Human Behavior
3
PSY 274 Social Psychology 
3
PSY 335 Psychology of Childhood, or  
PSY 336 Psychology of the Adolescent, or  
CFS 202 The Development of the Young Child in the Family 3
PSY 337 Psychology of Adult Life: Maturity and Old Age, or  
SWK 400 Selected Topics: Process of Aging
3
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology 3

Electives
(variable credits)
Specific advising guidelines for selecting and sequencing required and elective courses are available from the School of Social Work.
Social Welfare Minor
Students pursuing minors in other areas of study may choose a social welfare minor. The minor program requires the completion of 18 credits. To declare a minor, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and submit a Declaration of Minor form to the social welfare minor program or the director of the baccalaureate social work program, their faculty advisors, and the dean’s office of their home colleges. A limit of 3 transfer credits may be applied with permission.

Required core courses
(3 or 6 credits; 3 credits each)
SWK 115    Introduction to Social Welfare or
SWK 201    Social Work Practice and Skills Laboratory I
(If both SWK 115 and 201 are taken, SWK 115 must precede SWK 201.)

Elective courses
(12-15 credits; 3 credits each)
SWK 314    Social Welfare Policy and Services I
SWK 315    Social Welfare Policy and Services II
SWK 326    Persons in Social Context
SWK 328    Human Diversity in Social Contexts
SWK 357    Processes of Aging
SWK 361    Foundations of Social Work Research
SWK 400    Selected Topics
SWK 458    Practice and Policy in Adult Corrections

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